London Olympics Day 9: Saina brings glory

It was not Saina all the way in the match may be, but for Indians it hardly mattered as she got the bronze amidst disappointing circumstances. She became only the second Indian woman, after Karnam Malleswari in the Sydney 2000 Olympics, to get an Olympic medal. (All AFP Photos)

Saina was trailing 18-21, 0-1 when Xin Wang, the World number 2, forfeited the match owing to a knee injury. In true sportsman spirit though, the Indian did not break into any celebration despite getting the medal.

The day did not begin well for India though as women trap shooter Shagun Chowdhary finished 20th amongst 22 competitors.

India's Sudha Singh, competing in the women's 3000m steeplechase heats at the athletics event, did not go past the heats. Hardly anything was expected of the athlete though and she did not surprise either.

But a lot was expected of Sania Mirza and Leander Paes and instead they handed another tennis disappointment to India, losing out in the quarter-final to top seeds Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi of Belarus. This also brings an end to India's tennis hopes at the London Games.

For Krishna Poonia, qualifying for the finals would have been more satisfying than anything else. Medal chances were anyway too optimistic and her best throw of 63.62 metres could only give her a seventh place finish, a respectable one at that. She also finished ahead of a former Olympic champion.

Laishram Devendro Singh continued his brilliant run in the Olympics as he qualified for the quarter-final in the 49 kg category with a win over Serdamba Purevdorj of Mongolia by 16 points to 11. He followed Vijender Singh who was the first Indian boxer into the quarters.

Manoj Kumar too fought valiantly in his 64 kg bout against world number 1 Thomas Stalker of Great Britain but despite taking the last round 7-4, he lost it overall by 16-20 to bow out of the Olympics.